Zimbabwe match official Iknow Chabi has been named as one of the 16 umpires for the ICC Under-19 Cricket World Cup 2020 to be staged in South Africa.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) revealed the umpire and match referee appointments for the biennial youth tournament, which will be held from 17 January to 9 February, today.
The 35-year-old Chabi will officiate as an on-field umpire in three tournament matches, starting with the New Zealand-Japan game scheduled for the Puk Oval in Potchefstroom on 18 January.
His next assignment will be as a fourth umpire for the match between Pakistan and Scotland the following day, again at the Puk Oval.
On 21 January, Chabi will be the television umpire for the India versus Japan match at the Mangaung Oval in Bloemfontein.
He will then move to Kimberley where he will be raising his finger in the West Indies-Nigeria and England-Nigeria matches at the Country Club Ground and the Diamond Oval on 23 and 25 January respectively.
Before the tournament proper, Chabi will also be involved in three official warm-up matches – two as an on-field umpire and the other as a fourth umpire – between 12 and 15 January.
He left for South Africa today.
Chabi made his international debut as an umpire when he stood in the Twenty20 international match between Zimbabwe and Pakistan in Harare on 4 July 2018.
On 12 April 2019, he stood in his first one-day international match, between Zimbabwe and the United Arab Emirates, in Harare.
ZC director of cricket Hamilton Masakadza was elated at the news of Chabi’s appointment.
“I wish to convey our warmest congratulations to Iknow on his well-deserved appointment,” Masakadza said.
“He is a dedicated and hard-working umpire and I have no doubt he will do well at the Under-19 World Cup. We will be watching him with pride as he raises the Zimbabwe flag high.”
The ICC will only announce the umpire and match referee appointments for the knockout stages after the teams have been confirmed.
The appointments for the Plate and Super League final will be finalised after the semi-finals.
Adrian Griffith, the ICC senior manager for umpires and referees, said: “We are committed to appointing the finest officials available and I have every confidence the team travelling to South Africa for the Under-19 Cricket World Cup will do a fine job. I wish them all the best.”
The officials for the tournament are:
Umpires: Roland Black, Ahmad Shah Pakteen, Sam Nogajski, Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, Ian Gould, Wayne Knights, Rashid Riaz Waqar, Anil Chaudhary, Patrick Bongani Jele, Iknow Chabi, Nigel Duguid, Ravindra Wimalasiri, Masudur Rahman Mukul, Asif Yaqoob, Leslie Reifer, Adrian Holdstock
Match referees: Graeme Labrooy, Shaid Wadvalla, Phil Whitticase